2ND LEAD: Medical science must respect human dignity, pope says

Sun, 07 Nov 2010

Barcelona - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday warned against giving unlimited freedom to medical advances in the Spanish city of Barcelona - where his presence drew some 250,000 people.

"It it indispensable that new technological developments in the medical field never be to the detriment of respect for human life and dignity," the pope said, on visiting a Catholic center for disabled children.

The number of children with Down's Syndrome at the center had gone down because many such children were aborted before birth, Spanish bishops' conference spokesman Isidro Catela claimed - prior to the pope's two-day visit to Spain.

On Sunday morning, Benedict celebrated a mass to consecrate the city's Sagrada Familia basilica, the unfinished masterpiece of Catholic architect Antoni Gaudi, which is one of Spain's most iconic tourist sights.

In his homily, Benedict urged the state to protect the family based on the union of man and woman, and described the life of children as "sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception."

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government has legalized homosexual marriage, introduced fast-track divorce and made abortion available on demand in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

The pope later stressed the same message, describing marriage and family as "the hope of humanity" during prayers attended by tens of thousands of people in front of the Sagrada Familia - a name meaning Holy Family.

Large crowds cheered the pope, waving Vatican, Spanish and regional flags and chanting "Benedict, Benedict!"

A total of about 250,000 people showed up to see the pontiff during his visit to Barcelona, officials estimated. That was less than initial estimates, which put the expected number at up to half a million.

The mass at the Sagrada Familia was attended by dignitaries including King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, as well as some 8,000 people inside and 36,000 seated outside the basilica.

Benedict praised the beauty created by the likes of Gaudi - whose canonization is being considered by the Vatican - as "revealing God."

The interior of the Sagrada Familia, which has been under construction for 128 years, had been largely finished by the time of the pope's visit.

However, the basilica, which will feature 18 spires, is not expected to be entirely finished before 2025.

On the plane to Spain, Benedict described Spain - a former Catholic stronghold - as the main battleground between faith and secularism, the daily El Pais reported.

Zapatero, whose reforms are seen by the church as having accelerated secularization, did not attend either of the masses the pope celebrated during his visit.

However, he was scheduled to meet the pontiff at Barcelona airport prior to Benedict's departure.

Homosexuals and feminists staged several demonstrations against the pope's visit in Barcelona, with about 100 gays kissing each other as the popemobile passed by.

Benedict already visited Spain 2006, and is due to return in 2011.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352387,human-dignity-pope-says.html.